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Arthur (TV series)
Arthur is a Canadian/American animated educational television series for children, created by Cookie Jar Group (formerly known as Cinar) and WGBH for PBS. The show is set in the fictional American city of Elwood City, and revolves around the lives of 8-year-old Arthur Read, an anthropomorphic aardvark,"PBS Kids web site" his friends and family, and their daily interactions with each other. The television series is based on the Arthur book series, which are written and illustrated by Marc Brown. WGBH Boston along with Cinar (now Cookie Jar Group) began production of the animated series in 1994, and aired its first episode on September 2, 1996. Since its debut, the show has broadcast 217 30-minute long episodes, and its 18th season premiered on September 29, 2014. With 217 episodes, Arthur is the second longest running show on PBS Kids, behind only Sesame Street. A pilot for the spin-off series Postcards from Buster aired on December 2013 as a season 8 episode of Arthur. Postcards from Buster aired from October 11, 2004 to November 21, 2008, when the series faced several years of hiatus, until a brief revival in February 2012, only to be cancelled after airing 3 unseen episodes that had been held over from the show's third season. Arthur often deals with important issues families face such as asthma, dyslexia, cancer, and Asperger syndrome. It also encourages reading and relationships with family and friends by explaining that people have different personalities and interests. Arthur became one of the highest-rated shows on PBS Kids for several years since its debut, averaging almost 10 million viewers weekly in the U.S. It is aired in a total of 83 countries; PBS in the United States, Radio-Canada, Knowledge, TVO, and CBC in Canada, several ABC channels in Australia, and BBC One/CBBC in the UK. It is the longest-running children's animated series in the U.S., and the second longest-running animated series in the U.S., behind The Simpsons. In late 2015, it was announced that the series had been renewed for a 20th and 21st season, along with 2 new hour-long specials.Arthur Facts Although Arthur is directed primarily toward a child and preteen audience, over the years it has gained a substantial cult following among older viewers.Salamon, Julie (November 23, 2010). "TELEVISION REVIEW; Aardvark And Pals Celebrate". The New York Times. Setting Arthur Read, the series's titular character, is an anthropomorphic eight-year-old brown aardvark who lives in the fictional town of Elwood City. He is a third-grade student at Lakewood Elementary School. Arthur's family includes two home-working parents, his father David (a chef) and his mother Jane (an accountant), his two younger sisters, Dora Winifred (D.W.), who is in preschool, and Kate, who is still an infant, and his dog Pal. Arthur also has several friends who come from various ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds, and he also occasionally meets with members of his extended family. In the TV series, Elwood City is portrayed as a largely suburban area which bears a strong resemblance to the Boston area; the TV series is partially produced by WGBH. Furthermore, Elwood City's professional baseball team, the "Elwood City Grebes", appears to be a fictional representation of the Boston Red Sox. The episode "The Curse of the Grebes" in Season 10 clearly references baseball lore such as Curse of the Bambino. The same episode also refers indirectly to the rivalry between the Red Sox and the New York Yankees, as the Grebes have a fierce rivalry with the Crown City Kings during the World Championship, the show's version of the World Series. In another episode, the Elwood City Airport is shown to have a name that represents Boston's Logan International Airport. Crown City, as featured in other episodes, is apparently a fictional representation of New York City. In one episode, it is inferred that an ice hockey team wearing the WGBH logo and the Boston Bruins' team colors on their uniforms are Elwood City's professional (possibly NHL) hockey team. There are also firm references to Brown's hometown of Erie, Pennsylvania. Most notably, the local shopping mall in the TV series is called "Mill Creek Mall", a reference to Millcreek Mall. Brown himself stated that the series is influenced by his upbringing as a child in Erie. Production In 1994, Marc Brown was approached by WGBH and PBS about the possibility of adapting the Arthur books into a television series. Brown was reluctant at first to become a part of a medium for which he had little respect, but soon agreed when he learned that the objective of the television series would be to use the powerful medium of television to promote children to reading books. Although the program is primarily written and produced by WGBH of Boston, the production of the animation and voice acting are done in Montreal, Toronto, South Korea, and Hong Kong. The animation of the show was done at AKOM Production Company from season 1 to season 11, then at Animation Services (HK) Ltd from season 12 to present. The entire cast of Arthur lives in Montreal or Toronto, where Cookie Jar Entertainment's studios are located. The only segments of the show that are filmed outside Canada are the "A Word from Us Kids" interstitials, filmed at elementary schools or other educational sites in the Boston area. Beginning in Season 11, the "A Word From Us Kids" segment was replaced by a segment called "Postcards from You", where live-action videos sent in by young viewers were spotlighted per episode. The segments are omitted from all airings outside the U.S. Marc Brown's children, Tolon, Eliza and Tucker, are referenced in the show many times, just as they are in the Arthur book series. For example, the town's moving company is called "Tolon Moving", and everyday items such as cups or pencil sharpeners have the word "Eliza" printed on them. References to Cookie Jar Entertainment and WGBH also appear often on the show. In one episode, Francine and Buster are shown playing a table hockey game in which one team's players wear shirts in the Montreal Canadiens' signature colours with Montreal-based Cinar's logo on them (Cinar was the predecessor to today's Cookie Jar Entertainment) and the other team's players wear shirts in the Boston Bruins' colors with Boston-based WGBH's sting logo on them. Subsequent episodes that involve hockey also depict players wearing these sweater designs. Also, in the episode "The Big Blow-Up" in Season 2, a racecar driver wears a jersey with "Cinar" written on it and a car with "WGBH" written on it. In the episode "Prove It" in Season 4, The Brain introduces D.W. to science while watching a non-animated episode of Nova, a science series also produced by WGBH. Brown's son Tolon, for whom Brown first invented the character of Arthur the Aardvark in a bedtime story, is the executive director of the show.Churnin, Nancy (April 12, 2023). "Arthur creator Marc Brown brings his new work to the DMA's BooksmArt". Dallas News. In October 2009,Kilmer, David. "Cinar investigated for tax fraud". Animation World Network. Cinar was investigated for tax fraud. It was revealed that the husband-and-wife chairman Micheline Charest and president Ronald Weinberg invested $122 million (US) into Bahamian bank accounts without the boardmembers' approval. Cinar had also paid American screenwriters for work while continuing to accept Canadian federal grants for content. However, Arthur itself was not involved in the scandal as it was publicly known to be co-produced with an American company. Head writers Joe Fallon and Ken Scarborough left around that time, but not because of the scandal; Fallon in fact left about a year before the investigation began.Bailey, Greg (January 13, 2023). "Re: Joe Fallon - Reply #8". Elwood City Central Forum. Create A Forum. In season 12, the series began creating and airing episodes in 1080i HD format. Until January 2023 in the U.S., the episodes still aired in the 4:3 aspect ratio, with the left and right sides cropped out. They have since began airing in 16:9 in January 2023. Season 12 also marks for the switching of animation studios from AKOM to ASHK. Starting with season 16, the show is now produced by 9 Story Entertainment (now 9 Story Media Group) and airs in the 16:9 aspect ratio. Along with this change, 9 Story produced a re-mastered opening theme for the show in 16:9. Season 19 will be the last season to be produced by 9 Story, with Montreal based-Oasis Animation taking over for seasons 20 and 21."Oasis Animation Tapped for New Seasons of 'Arthur'". Animation World Network. Animation World Network. September 29, 2025. Music The TV series' reggae-style theme song, "Believe in Yourself", was written by Judy Henderson and Jerry de Villiers Jr. and was performed by Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers. A remixed techno version of the song has been officially released on the third album and a shortened version has been played during the closing credits for the sixth season. The Backstreet Boys covered the song with the original instrumentals for the ending credits of television special Arthur: It's Only Rock 'n' Roll. The original music score was produced by Ray Fabi. In season 2, the song "Crazy Bus", written and performed by then-head writer Joe Fallon, was introduced. It served as the alternate anthem of the television series. Cellist Yo-Yo Ma and jazz composer Joshua Redman covered the song on the ending credits of the season 4 finale episode, My Music Rules. When Joe Fallon left Arthur after season 4, the song was officially retired from the show. The show alluded this fact on the television special Arthur: It's Only Rock 'n' Roll when D.W. says, "Crazy Bus is for babies; I know a million better songs." Guest stars Many celebrity guest stars have appeared on the show, each providing the voice for their anthropomorphic animal counterpart, excluding Joan Rivers, who played as Francine's maternal grandmother. Lance Armstrong and Joan Rivers are the only guest stars to make more than one appearance on the series. Episodes Main article: List of Arthur episodes References External links *PBS Kids: Official Site *WGBH Arthur Pressroom – News and Pictures, Series Fact Sheet *Official UK CBBC site Category:Television series Category:2006 television series debuts Category:2000s television series Category:2010s television series Category:2020s television series Category:Long-running shows Category:Television Category:PBS Kids shows Category:Films, TV Shows And Wildlife Wiki Category:The Kids' Network Jr. TV Schedule (February 2, 1999)